I just received the copyedit tags for “Teardrop” from the Magazine of Fantasy andScience Fiction.

Wow, that was fast!

The copy editor did an excellent job of digging into the minutia, following through on tiny details, and finding the spots where I occasionally and inadvertently indulged in what I call my writer’s echolalia—that is, needlessly repeating what are usually junk words in close proximity.

Sigh.

I sometimes find published works where the same little writer’s tick occurs, so it’s not uncommon. And their copyeditor didn’t catch it!

Gordon tells me that my story should be published in another two or three issues from when he receives my response, which he did today, and has the story typeset.

Which places my publication date (hopefully!) around Spring, 2015.

So excited to be published in such a longstanding and respected professional venue!

So there you have it, my friends. A professional copyeditor makes the difference between a polished piece fit for publication and something less so. I think so highly of copyeditors, I wrote a blog about them, In Praise of Copyeditors. Here’s the link: